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In the present-day structural batteries, carbon fibers are typically utilized as structural reinforcements due to their superior mechanical properties while being lightweight, which is optimal to improve mass savings.
With the insurgence towards higher efficiency, a new class of rechargeable batteries that are designed to possess both electrochemical energy storage and mechanical load-bearing capability are introduced.
They are defined as structural batteries, and this form of batteries takes advantage of incorporating multifunctionality into their architectures, whereby multiple functions of energy storage and load-bearing capability are combined into a single entity.
Thus, a multifunctional structural battery aims to significantly reduce the number of materials used as compared to a conventional battery system, and thereby improving overall mass savings, volume efficiency and to create an extensive range of available form factors.
This makes structural batteries a prime option to be implemented in a wide variety of devices, of which includes wearable electronics, electric vehicles (EVs), small robotic devices, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and potentially aircraft.
Global EV carbon fiber structural battery market accounted for $XX Billion in 2023 and is anticipated to reach $XX Billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of XX% from 2024 to 2030.
Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, in collaboration with KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, have produced a structural battery that performs ten times better than all previous versions. It contains carbon fiber that serves simultaneously as an electrode, conductor, and load-bearing material.
The new structural battery, which is described in an open-access paper in the journal Advanced Energy & Sustainability Research, features an energy density of 24 Wh kg−1, an elastic modulus of 25 GPa, and tensile strength exceeding 300 MPa.
structural battery uses carbon fiber as a negative electrode, and a lithium iron phosphate-coated aluminum foil as the positive electrode. The carbon fiber acts as a host for the lithium and thus stores the energy. Since the carbon fiber also conducts electrons, the need for copper and silver conductors is also avoided—reducing the weight even further.
Both the carbon fiber and the aluminum foil contribute to the mechanical properties of the structural battery. The two electrode materials are kept separated by a fiber glass fabric in a structural electrolyte matrix. The task of the electrolyte is to transport the lithium ions between the two electrodes of the battery, but also to transfer mechanical loads between carbon fibers and other parts.
